get everyone dressed. she's the winner. >> she's getting a book according to the steering committee. what's the name? jewels mcgwire. miss julesdc. you can have your own book signed by rick sanchez and brooke baldwin. >> they want my signature? >> they like you more thaurn th like me. they read your tweets all the time. now the man everybody loves. wolf blitzer. i feel bad for his bills, though. coming up in the situation room. here we go. thanks very much, rick. happening now, president obama tries to drive home his party's message about tax cuts as democrats dive into a frantic push to pass their agenda. the next few weeks could make or break their fight to keep control of the house and senate. some moderate republicans also have good reason to be anxious right now. just a matter of a few hours, another member of the party

establishment may, repeat, may be victim of tea party power. this contest is about to play out in vice president joe biden's own back yard. and the filmmaker michael moore joining me to explain the provocative take on a planned islamic center and mosque in rning city. he not only supports the idea, n wants it project build right on ground zero, not just a few blocks away. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." on the hill right now. democrats are feeling squeezed. they're coming back after the summer break with a massive to-do list on a vote extending the bush tax cuts. they have a month, even less, to get things done before they head homeo t campaign full time f re-election. president obama took his party's fight literally into the voter's back yard today. you met with a small group in a home in northern virginia right outside washington, d.c. he complained that his

administration is in a wrestling match with republicans over a tax break for the wealthiest americans. let's bring in our senior white house correspondent, ed henry, and theio senior political analyst, gloria borger. for pryou. the president was low key today as he has been for the last couple of days. what's going on? >> they have john boehner back in a corner with some of the president's fiery speees last week on the tr this time he was in a smaller group in a back yard. maybe he didn't need to throw out as much red meat. but they feel good inside the white house for a first time in a long time. they feel they're in offense after playing so much defense. that's all because of what happened. if you play out over the last few days, friday's white house news conference, the president really underlini the message that the republicans should not hold the le class hostage by demanding that you also extend the tax cuts for the rich. at the same time you do them for the middle class. 48 hours later on sunday, jn boehner seemed to adopt the

president's position by saying he's open to just moving forward on extending the middle class tax acut. they feel here at the white house that's because the president has really been on offense. he's taking it directly to boehner and the republicans and t's splitting the republicans bit. today you have the senate repuican mchwa mcconnello saying he doesn't just want to do the middle class tax cuts, he wants to do all of the bush tax cuts extended. eric cantor not giving john boehner any political cover here. so they feel that maybe nancy pelosi can move forward the next couple of weeks on a stand-alone bill. do you want to vote for extending the middle class tax cuts, yes or no. they think on the eve of the election, that could be a pretty good strategy. >> gloria, you'vnse been speaki to republicans out there. what are you hearing? p> there ista resounding round of applause for john boehner as ed was -- was pointing out, because lots of republicans think, gee, he may have backed himself into a position where he doesn't want i spoke with one republican who to be. said, look, boehner was

responding to a house-specific pothetical question. make no mistake about it. the republicans believe they're in a better position any time you talk about tax increases. they're playing on their terrory and they believe quite frankly that even if it's cutting off benefitsor the wealthy, that when people here tax hike. they distrust washington so much that say okay, you start with the wealthy, but you might end up with me, even though th democrats pledged to make these tax cuts for the middle clas permanent. they look back to reagan. they saw that the tax issue went viral with ronald reagan to define his presidency. so as far as they're concerned, they're happy to have this fight and the democrats are happy to have this fight. >> he spent an hour in that family's back yard in northern virginia today. in recent days, he's really been

naming boehner by name going h after him. did he do the same thing today? >> he mention him briefly. but the bigger thing was over the weekend. robert gibbs took the fight to twitter. picking on john boehner about "the new york times" story with boehner, the lobbyists, the tax commentse on "face the nation." gibbs called him the tan man, trying to tease boehner. they're getting down and fighting hand-to-hand combat. i pressed a short while ago, why are you doing that when cnn polling shows that john boehn is not known by mostamericans. they point to the case of joe barton. most americanson't know joe barton. he would be the energy chair if the republicans too over the house. their point inside the white houseand the democratic party is you have to start naming so of these people who will be in power even if most americans don't know -- here's where they stand, here's where the president stands. they make that contrast. >> it always helps to have an opponent, right?

it always helps to run against someone. the republicans to run against nancy pelosi. so they figure the more they mention him, the more scrutiny he's going to get. and they also believe he looks lir so-called country club republican. and that' an image they would like to present of the republican party to get their vote against it. >> but it's onegl thing, gloria for whe ithouse officials, for politicians to be doing that kind of personal attack. it's another thing f the president of the united states to be getting down to that on level. and somewhere questioning whether this is a smart statesman-like strategy for president obama. >> yeah, and i think that's a legitimate question to ask, wolf, but obama doesn't have an opponent this time around. so he's got to find one. and i think they figure they've found a pretty good one in -- in john boehner. and, so, the president is takinn him on because after all, wolf, if republicans win control ofe

the house of representavexts, john boehner would be the next speaker. >> he would, anindeed. thanks very much. henry and gloria borger. other important news we're following. a deadly passenger plane crash in venezuela. officials confirm 14 people were killed, but at last 47 people onboard survived. apparently half of them appeared to have survived. there are conflicting reports about the exact numbers of survivors. we're on top of this story. the government-owned aircraft crashed in southeastern a after la 12 minutes takeoff. the witness says the plane tumbled into some power lines before hitting the ground and exploding. no word on any possible cause for the crash. ann ivestigion is now understood under way. now to the worst environmental disaster in u.s. history. we're getting a closerook now at the infamous device that what could reveal what caused the disaster back in april. the failed blowout preventer,ist's called, ncuw in

federal custody, put on display in new orleans today. chad rogers now with more of the -- first time we've seen it -- out of the water up close, right, chad? oh. >> the first time we get a feeling of how big this thing really is -- really wa when it was down there. the barge bringing up the river. preventer.t the lower marine riser package. they put the kpap on that thing. or at least tried to put the cap on it? i have a picture here. here is the entire blowout p preventer. up there, all the way down. let me get it bigger. these are guys here. one, two, three, three men right there. and so this thing is just so much bigger than you think -- five stories oulr so, it would seem like there. there's the first video images of what we have on shore, on land. people getting video from it, on shore, pictures, sending it back to us. literally, the top of the riser,

ca preventerhe blowout capped there. that's the part right there. the white part in the middle was attached to the ground. it's literally to the surface of the earth, the bottom of that well, topf the hole. that's where the area that failed. so it's all there. they're going to take it apart, i assume, piece-by-piece like they take apart a nascar to figure o why it goes so fast. they're going to figure out why that thing didn't work. >> supposed to prevent a blowout. didn't exactly work out the way it's supposed to work out. they're going to find out why and make sure it never, never happens again, we hope chad, thank you. bp is one step closer to sealing the ruptured well in the gulf of mexico permanently. spokesman for the oil giant says drilling on the fist relief well has now resumed. drilli was halted lt month because of bad weather. the relief well is currently less than 50 feet vertilly and four feet horizontally from the

orinal well. the democratic candidate for governor in california, jerry brown, seems to be harboring a serious grudge from his political past. stand by and haerp hear his bit words from the formerte preside of t united states, bill clinton. and calling a candidate in delaware nasty names. she may have the last word in tomorrow's primary with a lot of help from the tea party movement. i'm brian todd in wilmington, delaware. after successes, the tea party movement set i sights cearly on this state. a candidate who's made a titan of state politics sweat out his primary. i'll have that story coming up.

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by protecting clients and turning uncertainty into confidence. what if that story were true? it is. ♪ jeff cafferty is here. months after president ob a obama's health care reform became law, the white house is still hoping that voters arein linebake it.n to this could be wishful thinking. senior advisor david axelrod said on "meet the press" yesterda this is a quote, i think health care over time will become more popular, unquote. add i go right now, people are mo.re anxious about the economy. unless i m sed somethg, health care and the associated costs part of everybody's

personal economy? i think it is. thheare issue is so unpopular with voters, not a single democratic candidate is promoting the health care law in the health care campaign ads, not one. a wall street column asked ray torically, who's obama cada's daddy, suggesting liberals are denying fraternity of that law. some republicans are denying the right to appeal. it's not hard to find reaso why the signature issue is ma popular. president obama told voters over and over again the law would bring down rising health care costs and save them money, remember? so far, it's not happening. an analysis from medicare shows health care costs will actually rise through 2019 as a result of obama care. last week, in his news conference, president obama seed to back off a bit from his earlier claim saying he never expected to extend insurance coverage to 31 million additional people for free.

the white house insists that over the long term, costs will come down, but apparentlyot until lo after costs go up -- some more. here's a question -- the white house says health care form will become more popular? do you agree with that? go to pomecnn..com/caffertyfile. post a comment on my blog. not a good sign. the president's signature issue, not a single democrat running for election in the midterms is featuring the health care law in their campaign ads. >> a lot of the democrats are trying to ruvon away from their vote right now. that's a good point you're making, jack. those who votedgainst i are bragging about it. it's a good subject for discussion. >> there you go. >> hrs to go before another primary day, the u.s. senate race in delaware is getting uglier. establishment republican candidate mike cassel is feeling more threatened than ever by his conservative challenger, christine o'donnell. ell donns the tea party movement support and sarah palin on her side. brian todd went to delaware to

preview thise. important race. brian? wolf, the republicans believe they have their best shot in decades to picatk up a y seatn delaware long dominated by joe biden and his allies. but the main stream gop candidate has been knocked off balance after the tea party threw its weight behind the primary opponent. this was supposed to be a cruise control primary campaign for mike csel, a moderate republican in a democratic state, the long-term congressman and two-term governor has the experience and prague mattism at plays well in delaware. but cassel's support for some of president obama's priorities has turned the tea party against him and now there trying to make him the next main stream republican road kill like they did with lisa murkowski in alaska. >> was lisa murkowski's loss in alaska a wakeup call for you? >> it feels an added wakeup call. we had watched some of the elections around the country and i saw what was going on,

actually, received a call from lisa after the election saying, you know, mike, you need to be preped. they're going to come at you hard. >> reporter: and have they? ♪ god bless america >> reporter: in a week, the tea party express has blitzed delaware, pledging to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to boost cassel's opponent in this primary. >> good to see you. >>. >> reporter: christine o'donnell charms the lunch crowd in a senior center in dover. personal, dynamic, their injection of cash has given her insurgent campaign real momentum. it's sparked some of the most vicious internal warfare the republican party has seen this year. >> do you recognize this delaware politician? >> reporter: gop politicians who backed cassel are attacking o'doell for defaulting on her personal bills, for not paying income taxes, which she denies. called her delusional, said she couldn't get elected dogcatcher.

>> broad sides, set back or a badge of honor for>> you? >> the exciting thing is the attacks that have come from the establishment have served to rally support behind. we've been getting -- we've been getting a significa increase in voters are coming out to volunteer for the campaign. they're saying we are disgusted by what weee -- the attacks coming against you, because everybody is hurting. >> reporter: what this race could be hurting is a golden opportunity for the republicans to capture a seat long domated by joe biden. political observers in delaware say cassel should still pull this primary out. but if he wins, he's wounded against a little-known democrat. if o'donnell pull the upset, some analysts say she would likely lose the general elect n election. could all of this affect the chances of the gop capturing the key seat. >> the democrats saw a opportunity to capitalize on it here. they started increasing the

attacks on cassel. and they've been pushing o'donnell saying, you kn she's got an opportunity here and she might be able to beat mike cassel. >> adding more intrie to this campaign, sarah palin has thrown her endorsement behind christine o'donnell. palin has a lot of support in this state, but it's not clear if it will propel victory in this primary. it will give national buzz in a race that's gotten plenty of it in the last few days. wolf? >> the scorecard for the endorsement record. so far, this primary season, keeping tabs on 30 key race where is she endorse someone before the contested primary was held. goheavyweight ne gingrich rails on presint obama. why he's now associating the president with what he callsbeh

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top stories in "situation tsituation room" right now. kate, what do you have? >> iraqis are disputing a report that says 30,000 people a being held in the country without charge. many of the iraqis have suffered severe beatings in secret prisons. the spokesman for the iraqi prime minister calls the figure inaccurate and extremely exaggerated. six medical aide workers and four americans are releasebad o bail after dispensing aids medication without a license in sib bam zimbabwe. they werarrested thursday and deny l allegations. they're expected back in court this month. >> oh the first senate impeachment trial since president clinton's is under way. he's facing a number of chaes including corruption and lying about his past. the house of representatives

voted unanimously in march and expected to vote this year. andntia controversial plan legalize marijuana in california has hit a new roadblock. nine former heads u of the u.s. drug enforcement administration wrote a letter to eric holder with alockage of proposition 19 as it's cled if it's approved on the november itball. it's premature to speculate on taken if thed be measure passes. sure to talk a little bit more about that if that happens. >> see if it does pass in november, november 2, election day. thanks very much, kate. could democrats face a new host of investigations if republicans take control o congress? the ranking member of the house oversight and governmental reform committee darryl isom is here in "the situation room." and michael moore says he wants to become the white house chief of staff. you'll hear why. myconterview with michael moore llming up as well. >> the 19 murderers of 9/11 who

killed 3,000 people --

hereit in "the situation ro" happening now, it's the biggest arms sale in american history. what's behind new plans to sell $60 billiopmn of military equipment to saudi arabia? stand by. new word that a jailed erican hiker in iran could be released soon. mary snow is monitoring the case for us. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." wi>> if reblicans win control of the house of representatives in november, some democrats fear newly empowered goplawmakers will launch an investigation spee with president obama as a prime target. let's discuss with the california congressman who's been at the center of the lot of thinvestigation. he 's the senior republican of the house government -- house oversight and government reform committee. got it right. congressman, thank you for comingn. >> thanks, wolf. if we take control, i would like

to change the name back to the government reform oversight. we'r e to see how the government is organized and accountable. >> right now, a lot of subpoena power. investigation, power, if you will. "newsweek" recently wrote this -- republicans have a good chance to win the control of the house of representatives this fall, and issa will likely lead the oversight committee with unfettered subpoena power. that means democrats should expect investigations to the president's staff, his appoin e appointees, and every policy he promotes, not to mention his sponse to crises like the spill. is that what democrats can expect? >> not at all. you mention henry waxman. he's been off of the committee for two years. you wouldn't notice it because the ja who replaced him, ed tof towns, is in the party othe er so it's been very, very quiet. president. that's one of the challenges is we're supposed to be the committee that looks at government, the bureaucracy, its

continuous failures. 74 igs, inspector generals who are partners with the government accountability office, we're supposed to do what we did back in '05, look at mineral management service and its too cozy relationship with the oil companies. and then we're supposed to to do the reform. our failure wasn't that we didn't figure out mms was dysfunctional, but over th intervening years, we didn't fix it. ultimately, bp is not about the failure in the gulf, it's the failure since they put them in existence. >> there are plenty of obama administration officials who are very worried right now if u become the chairman of this committee, they can expect -- they're going to have to start hiring personal lawyers because you'll be subpoenaing them for records and for tapes and for everything else. so we're goi back to the days of the clinton administration when dan burton and other republican members of congress were leveling -- issuing

subpoenas left and right. >> well, the era of dan burton and the era of the people taking the fifth,tr aving the country, and in some cases going to jail is an era i hope none of us repeat. in other words, the crimes that went on shouldn't repeat, and neither should the subpoenas. dan burton had a specialnaime in which subpoena after subpoena was requir ed because nobody would answer the questions without them. during tom davis' chairmanship and henry waxman's chairmanship and when i was the subcommittee chairman, we never issued subpoenas. we almost always got the answers we wanted and worked cooperatively with the inspectors general. wolf, there's one report i need about subpoenas. only one inspector general, these people are appointed and confirmed by the president, the senate, and the cabinet, only one inspector general has subpoena authority. i don't really need theuspect authori -- subpoena authority. they need to get answers on behalf of the people they work for. right now, exct f the department of defense, none of them have.

>> inspectors general that work for the justice department, the state department, housing, whatever. you're saying they deserve to have subpoena -- presidential appointees should have the ability to getq to the bottom quickly. ifhey have the authority like the department of defense ig, they'll almost never need to use it or never need to use it. we needhe igs to get answers. i don't need to be looking at every failure of government, i need to be looking where failure of government needs reform. you bring it back to congress and we fix it. that's the reason i'm excited about th committee. i was excited when i was in the majority before. i was excited at times when henry waxman went after real problems. >> "the new york times" recently called you -- and i'm quoting it now, "annoyer in chief." is that a badge of honor from your perspective? >> wolf, in the minority, it is. if you try to hold the administration accountable the minority when you have no n from power, the most i can do is get the press to ask a lot of questions and annoy em. ultimately, i have no authority.

in the majority, yes, i want government to do what itos's supposed to do and nothing t mo. i want it to do on time what they're supposed to. you know, fema was a failure, recognized by katrina and rita. no question at all. but are you saying it's a success today after the gulf situation? probably not. >> you're measuriadng t curtains already in that new office that you might be getting?to >> no, because ed townsend and i worked closely together. he's helped me get subpatoenas d get med information time and time again. our relationship, you haven't heard much about it. but for the most part, we went in to the details with toyota. we got the chairman himself,ato come herend tell people it will be fixed on his watch, it s fixed without subpoenas, witht a lot of hoopla. but we got secretary lahood to commit and begin the process of fixing ntsa. we're supposed to do it when ever possibility. >> the national transportation

safety administration -- >>ack ro anymores. >> thank you for coming in. >> thanks, wolf. michael moore is readyto become theext white house chief of staff. listen to what he had to say. and president obama's education reforms about to undergo a critical test right re in waington, d.c. sure i'd like to diversify my workforce, i just wish thaall of the important information was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪

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rahm emmanuel, listen up, the author and filmmaker michael moore says he would like to be the next white house chief of staff. wepoke about it in an interview earlier today. >> you wrote a piece at the time there was suggesons that rahm emmanuel was going to be leaving the white house chief of staff job. you volunteered. you said youwould come in and replace rahm emmanuel with a dollar a year, sleep on a cot in the white house. well, he's aarently thinking very seriously now for running for mayor of chicago. is your offer on the table still to become the next white house chief of staff? >> the offer is still there, yes. the offer is on the table. they don't have to give me that title. they can giveso it to somebody else. i'm going to come in. work every day. we'll get up th orobama, 6:00

every morning. we'll light a fire under him. 'lgoing. we'll get down -- we'll get the job that needs to get done. stand up for the american people, stand up for the working people. have some guts. and that's what i think we need. i'm willing to do that if the president is watching, i'll come help him out. i'm already down here in mia now. i'm working out with leon, i'm getting him ready for the basketball season, you know, working with himin and he's doing well. and he said i think the heat are looking good this year. but i'm doing my part to help him, you know, do the best season ever. >> he wants to help lebron james. he wants to help the president of the united states. you're going to have a lot more of the interview with michael moorcoming up in the next hour. i'll also ask him, why he thinks developers should build that cultural center and mosque on ound zero on ground zero as opposed to near ground zero. you're going to want to hear what michael moore has to say. much more of the interview comi up. and bill clinton, he's not

running for governor of californiawhy is the democratic candidate,br jerry brown, taking direct aim at the former president. an old political feud resurfacing bigtime right now. we'll discuss at our strategy session. and republican newt gingrich's new line of attack against president obama. will the former house speak erwin support for a possible white house bid? or will he just confuse voters? ♪ everything you need to stretch out on long trips. residence inn. ♪

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welcome to progressive. nice calculator. i'm just trying to save money on my car insurance. you know, with progressive, you get the option to name your price. is that even possible? uh, absolutely. trade? and i still get great service? more like super great. oh, you have a message. "hello." calculator humor. i'll be here all week. i will -- that was my schedule. the freedom to name your price. now, that's progressive. call or click today. in california, a democratic candidate jerry brown is responding angrily to his new ad attack for a replican for governor meg whitman.

he's saving, though, some of his harshest comments for, guess who, bill clinton? the whitman's camp new commercial shows bill clinton ck in 1992 when he and brown were both running for the democratic nomination for president. back then, clinton accused brown of raising taxes in his first go-round as governor of california. here's the ad. jerry brown's good old days. but what really happen? >> cnn, not me, cnn says his assertion about his tax record was, quote, just plain wrong. jerry brown went o there and took credit for the fact that the people of california voted for proposition 13, which lored taxes, which he opposed. now he's going around and taking credit for it. he raised taxes as governor of california. he had a surplus when he took office and a deficit when he left. he doesn't tell the people the truth. >> you heard clint mention thenn cnnhe report in td that meg whitman is running. you should know that one of our former correspondents, brooks

jackson, said the reporti back then was inaccurate and brown did not leave california with higher taxes when he left office. as y might bguess, jerry brown is ticked off with the whitman campaign and he apparently still holds a serious grudge against billclinton. listen to this video of brown yesterday posted by "time" magazine. >> she's got clinton lying about it!yo did you see that? raise taxes. it's a lie. and clinton is a nice guy. [ bleinaudible ] i did not have taxes with this state. >> let's discuss with our political contributor democrat strategist donna brazille and alex cognolonos. did he make a mistake going

after bill clinton who arguay is one of t most democratic personalities out there right now? >> well, he overreacted to the ad that meg whitman ran because that w factually not true. rather than stay on message and try and deconstruct the ad, which was wrong, instead, you know, it appears that he attacked bill clinton. >> hard feelings between jerry brown and bill clinton. that grudge. i covered that '92 campaign. it's still very ousserious. ou it on't know how seri is. bill clinton is someone who's ing to campaign for democrats across the country. i'm sure he'll be oulit there i california and raise the flag for jerry brown as n well. >> not so sure aboutthat. >> give jerry brown some advice. don't run against bill clinton. i'm a a republican. we did it a lot. it never worked out well for us. he's the most powful politici in the country. the ad -- the state corrected some budget figures, but the ad is basically right.

clinton is right when he said he inherited a surplus and turned it to a deficit. jerry brown opposed the tax reductions, prop 13 and took credit for them. >> you have to admit, donna, that's a brilliant ad. >> but first of all, ronald reagan raised spending. the longest spending increase under his watch. jerry brown takes office. he's like oba. dealing with a budget deficit left by republicans. so i think if you want to talk the facts, the facts will not change. what has changed it appears is meg whitman has learned how to put the ads out and jerry brown overreacted. >> there's a reason he was called governor moon beam when he was in office. because on the planet y zargon whatev galaxy he's from, he's an erradic guy. >> he's held office in california, statewide. >> and in oakland, he raised property taxes. same story. new decade. >> well, the first p ersol attacks against jerry brown. he has a good record of public

service. meg whitman is a billionaire. she's running now to try to -- she's running to change her record, not talk about what she will do for californians. >> let me move on to newt gingrich, someone who may want to be president of the united states. he told the national review on-line this -- and i'll read it. what is obama is so outside or comprehension that only if you understand kenyan anti-coloni behavior can you begin to piece together his actions? i think he worked very hard at being a person who is normal, reasonable, merate, bipartisan, transparent, accommodating -- none of which was true. he was authentically dishonest. but what is he talking about when he says that president obama -- you can only understand him if you understand kenyan anti-colonial behavior. >> makes my hair hurt. did he mean keynsian? >> kenyan. >> this is the point he was trying to make? have you read reams from my

father"? barack obama's book about his father. a beautiful book, it's poetry. he's searching for himself. he knows his mother from kansas. doesn't know his father from kenya. he's trying to find a granite upon which his unborn children can stand -- about as pretty as you cano write. trying to find his father, who he is. he explores thatculture, the anti-colonial culture in africa at that time was trying to free t itself from europe. that's what he's saying. obama und it important enough to write a book about it, but it's not significant enourigh tt newt gingrich can comment on it? i think it's unfair. >> it's outrageous. it's simply outrageous. former speaker. he sat down whst president obama la year to try to come up with reforms in our education system along with al sharpton. what has changed over the last year? what has change? the tea party. he's pandering to the tea party. newt gingrich should stop pandering to the tea party andl

tell the american people the truth. president obama is like everybody else who's born in this country. main stream, understands middle class values to. make those kinds of comments isa outrageous. >> a unique individual with tremendous gifts. >> in what way? he became prident of the united states, that's the most unique thing. >> in a lot of ways he's the first black president. he went to harvard. 's on the streets -- he's from>> kansas. >> he's not the first from harvard. >> he unique individual. he wrote a book about where he comes from. e apparently p believe he wasn't born in the united states, may have been born in kenya. for newt gingrich to raise this whole kenyan issue right now, you that s'sayo he's trying to reenforce that whole notion that maybe the guy wasn't even born in america. >> the birther movement. it needs to stop, alex. >> barack obama wrote a book about this. it's fair to talk abt it. two, there is this sense in this country that barack obama does not believe in american exceptionalism. he said ev country is exceptional.

greece and -- that's not an american idea. that's the -- >> no, that's not what it is. it's disturbing to see people like newt gingrich w i know can work with barack obama on education to now be making these type of outrageous comments. >> leave it there, guys. thanks very much. when the voter goes to the polls here in the nation he's capital tomorrow, president obama won't be on the ballot, but the educational policy may bed tested. stand by. ♪ check your email messages ♪ check the money in the bank ♪ check the gas in the tank ♪ check the flava from your shirt ♪ ♪ make sure your pits don't stank ♪ ♪ check the new hairdo, check the mic one two ♪ dge right on top of you ♪ ♪ you che a lot of things already why not add one more u ♪ that can help your situation for sure ♪ ♪ check your credit score ♪ free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ free-credit-score ♪ you won't regret it at all! ♪ check the legal y'all. >>offer applies with enrollment in triple advantage.®

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jack is back with the cafferty file. >> the white houssays health care reform will become more popular. do you agree? robert says absolutely not. the heal care bill is a flagrant display of what's wrong with our government ignoring what the voters want. the majority of the americans stliekd this bi-- disliked this bill. until we have single pair universal health care we won't have any reform of any meaning, the hmos run the show and nobody has the courage to slay that

beast. jim writ it certainly should. people see the benefits they receive thanks to health care reform and realize that the nonsense that was being spouted by conservatives like sarah palin was just nonsense, i think they'll be delighte it's one of the finest, proudet pieces of legislation ever the congress. l. writes you'd have to be an idiot to believe the democrats' health care plan was anything but a prelude to a single payer system. the concept to drive the cost of private insurance higher due to benefit mandates and then have the government take over. everyone will suffer from reduced care and higher costs if this program is not repealed. m. says it's something libera can't figure out. for every serviced there's an expense and that expense has to come from somewhere. so much easier to spend someone else's money. vicki in milwaukee writes as soon as those tea partiers need to use the benefits of the health care plan, they'll jump right on it. just like they don't tu their

backs on social security, disability, medicare and medicaid. paul in florida writes the obama care scam is uniform ranches, pixie dust and wishing on a star rubbish. the only time our health care costs will go down is when our toes turn up. if you want to read more about this, you'll find it on my blog cnn.com/caffertyfile. so you were at the redskins game yesterday? >> i was. it was a very exciting win over the dallas cowboys. >> well, the cowboys gave them the gam it was a gift. said here, take this first game. >> a few major blunders, but the redskins capital i haddes on it. we'll take a win, thank you. it's being called the largest arms sale in american history. details behind new plans to sell $60 billion in military equipment to a major u.s. ally. plus a heated mayoral race right here in washington, d.c., could hold the keys to president obama's planned education reforms. they could have shipped it too.

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president obama's aggressive education policy is abouto undergo a critical test rig here in his backyard. kate baldwin is following the heated race for mayor of washington. d.c. and education very high on the agenda. what's going on? >> it is. wolf, this is a local eleion but it is being closely watched far beyond the district. why? you hit the nail on the head. education is playing at significant role in the race and the outcome could carry

significant implications for the national debate over education reform. >> good morning. all right. >> reporter: washington mayor adrian fenty is famous for taking on d.c.'s struggling schools. now he's in the fight of his career in part because of how he did it. neck in neck with challenger d.c. council chairman vincent gray. >> we've got an uphill battle because we made toh decisions. we'll continue to make those tough decisions because they're right for the people, but we'r not naive. we know that has cost us a little bit of our political popularity that we came into the election ntth. b >> reporter: fenty brought in determineder reformer michelle i as chancellor. it has become aodel for education reform advocated by the obama administration. >> we need to see radical changes because the outcomes for kids that are happening right now are robbing them of their

futures. >> reporter: those changes include shutting down two dozen schools, firing hundreds of educators, including more than 100 teachers over the summer for poor performance, overhauling the teacher evaluation system, linking it to student performance for the first time and pushing teacher me pay. though rhee admits they have a long way to go, test scores have improved. she's received millions of dollars in federal race to the top funds. now the unexpectedly tight mayoral primary is being closely watched. some fear a fenty loss could have a chling effect on similar aggressive overhauls to education across the country. >> nationally how that will play out is it will reinforce this idea that for olitia, dramatic education reform is mutually exclusive with furthering your political career. >> good morning. >> reporter: voters in the cthi are split on whether they f wil let fenty stick around to find out. >> old teachers are no longer

here. as the school system changed. we still have an unprecedented number of ung people that still can't read. >> all i know d.c. years ago was terrible and now they say it's not. >> reporter: adding to this debate, recent polls indicate there's a racial divide over fenty and his coleadership. according to a recent poll, vincent gray is leading by a 62 to 17% margin against likely african-american voters. fenty holding a 68 to 22% lead amonwhite voters. we'll find out tomorrow, wolf, when the polls close. >> kate, thank you. you're in "the situation room." happening now, america's largest arms deal ever. a proposed sale of hundreds of warplanes, helicopters, smart bombs to saudi arabia, and that may just be the beginning. what it might mean to the u.s. economy and jobs. stand by. does he really want to move a planned iamslic center from near ground zero to on ground zero? i'll speak with the outspoken filmmaker and author, michael

moore. and she's one of three hikers held in iran for more than a year now. this aing american, though, may be freed if her family can come up with half a million dollars. is this bail or is it ransom? we want to welc viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." the united states may be on the rge of its largest arms sale ever. th proposed deal would provide $60 billion worth of warplan and high-tech weapons to saudi arabia. mthat could boost the major u. ally against iran and could boost the u.s. economy at the same time. let's go straight to our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. $60 billion, barbara. what's involved here? >> reporter: it is enormous, wolf, if it all goes through. defense contractors say it could mean 77,000 jobs in the very

flagging aerospace and defense sectorn the economy. it has to all be approved by congress. it's not entirely clear how much the saudis will actually buy, but here are the details that are gooling to capitol hill. just look at some of the numbers here, wolf. 84 new f-15 fighters. ey'll upgrade and refurbish another 70 of these f-15 fighters. 70 apache helicopters. 72 blackhawks. utility helicopters and another 36 helicopters of various types, a number of bombs and missiles. all of this going to the saudis, and of course the world is watchingatery carefully. that's a very tough neighboood they're in, wolf. >> what are the saudis, what are they going to with all this stuff? >> reporter: well, you know, it is the neighborhood out there, isn't it. defense officials, pentagon officials say all of this is aimed at helping thebe saudis he a better,n more modern deterren and defensive capability against

iran. very interestingly, the pentagon doesn't expect much opposition from elisrael. israel's qualitative edge will be maintained, the pentagon says, and right now they don't expect the israelis to squawk much about thi because the israelis, of course, are also ticoncerned about iran. >> interesting stuff. all right, babara, thanks very much. an ailing american hiker, one of nthree held in iran now for more than a year, could be released as soon as half a million dollars in so-called bail is submitted to iranian authorities. mary snow is working this story for us. mary, what are you learning? >> reporter: ll, wolf, as far as that $500,000 bail, it's becoming clear it won't be coming from the u.s. government. the state depantrtmes is sayin the u.s. does not fund prisoner bail. half a million dollars bail now stands between sarah shourd and freedom from the iranian jail where she's been held since july of 2009 along with her fiance shane bauer and friendjosh fattal. that demand came after an abrupt

announcement of her release set for this past weekend. a former national security council iran analyst says it's latest news this president,as iranian mahmoud ahmadinejad, is about to attend the u.n. general assembly. >> all the back and forth about sarah shourd's release, what does itst say? >> first of all,i think president mahmoud ahmadinejad wanted to use this as a way of building up a store of b good wl just before he came to new york. it didn't work that way. and i think he was -- hwes plan were really screwed up by the fact that all of these hard liners in iran, the conservatives who are supposed to be his friends, are all attacking him le and right. and they're opposing him on everything he does. they wanted tomb eanarrass him a little bit, and i think they succeeded. >> reporter: hes hopeful shourd will be released and said it's not uncommon for iran to

demand bail, as in the a case oa canadian. he was jailed for four months in evin prison where the three americans are being held. like them, he was accused of spying. he tells us he was released on d $300,000 bail and had to hand over the deed to his family's home in iran. he says he was wander by i thos in iran not to talk about what happened to him while in jail, and he says shourd will likely face similar conditions. >> they are going to definitely ask her nott to talk about what she saw in prison. maybe not even the circumstances of her arrest. and she will be in a very difficult situation, because she will have two of her best friends, her husband -- her fiance right now and one of her best friends in prison in iran in the hands of the iranian govement, so she has to be very careful when she comes out. >> reporter: the three were detained when they were hiking in iraq and allegedly crossed an

unmarked border. theiry' families maintain they' innocent, sayi if they did so, it was by accident. shourd's medical condition has been a concern. she has precancerous cervical cells and her daughter found a lump in her breast. the families of the three americans are not commenting, wolf, on these latest developments. since the u.s. has no diplomatic relations with iran, it relies on the swiss government. the state department is workin through the swiss and others to gainhe release of all three americs being held. wolf. >> all right, mary, thanks very much. let's go deeper with fran townsend. fran is an external board adr to both the cia and homeland security partment here in washington. how extraordinary, unusual is this so-called bail? >> you know, wolf, i want to be careful because, of course, all three are still in iranianity custy. but it's very odd to me that they want -- they're asking for cash in exchange for the release. i you'd expect is if the iraan government really

wants the credit for humanitarian release, especially given the one hiker's health, they would simply release her on humanitarian grounds and not ask for money. you have to wonder what this dialogue is. we've seen so many sort of conflicting statements out of iran in the last 48 hours. there's clearly a struggle inrnal to the iranian govern o this. >> nobody believes that if she put up the $500,000 bail or her family did and they allowed her to leave, she would ever go back, to go before a court in tehran. >> that's exactly right. so let's call it what it is. it certainly feels like a shakedown by the iranian government for the $500,000. the's so many g things at play, hayou've got to wonder what about the other two? what's to happen to them if the one woman is released on medical grounds. >> because she would probab feel very guilty that she's out, her two friends heare still the. she would do whatever she could to get them out. and i assume the iranians would watch her behavior and that

could impact the te of the other two. >> that's right. it would be very stressful and very difficult for her. she couldn't really make any public statement at all about this without putting those left behind at risk. and so it would be a very difficult circumstance fores he especiallyi gin one of these who would be left behind is her fiance. >> the iranian president is gettin ready to come to new york to address the united nations general assembly later this month. once again, this would be an important time if he wants to send a positive si gnal to let these three americans go. >> that's exactly right. timing is actually on the side of the families and those three hikers being held. eas hopes that as he's preparing to come here, he will lookpp on this as an opportunity to release them and get the credit for having done so. >> he should do that. >> that's right. >> we hope he does and we hope all three of tm are okay. thanks very much. >> sure. jack cafferty will havthe cafferty file in just a moment. and then should the planned mosque and islamic community center be moved from near ground zero to right on top ofze groun

zero? that's what the filmmaker and author michael moorebelieves. we'll ta about histi controversial suggestion. that's coming up. and sarah palinn jumps into another republican primary fight. can she tip the scales in favor of the so-called tea party candidate? and a monster storm right now in the middle of the atlantic. hurricane igor now blowing at 150 miles an hour. that's a category 4. clae to a category 5. we'll get the latest forecast. introducing thsamsung fascinate powered by verizon.

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jack cafferty is here with the cafferty file. jack. >> wolf, as long as we keep reelect the same vermin election after election after election, this is the kind of garbage we get that passes for government. the hill newspaper reports t watchdog groups expect the ethics tria foric democratic congressman charlie rangel and democratic congresswoman maxine waters to be delayed until, you guessed it, after the midrm election in november. one group suggests that holding ethics hearings right before the midterms overly politicizes the ethics process. what about the voters? don't they have a right to know whether or not their lawmakers are guilty ofon ethics violatio before voting for or against them? the way it works is that the ethics committee must provide the member chargeden with all t evidence it plans to present in a trial a least 15 days before the trial begins, so even if the committee gave rangel and waters

their evidence this trweek, the trials couldn't star utnder the rules until the beginning of october. and of course that's right around the time when congress is likely to leave town again anyway so they can all go home vd campaign and tell the voters what wonderful folks they are. meanwhile, the ethics panel investigated charlie rangel for almost two years before accusing him of several violations, including not paying taxes on a dominican republican villa and improperly using his office to raise millions of dollars for an ion center named after him. two years. waters is accused ofo using her position to help a bank where her husband owns stock to win millions of dollars in federal bailout funds. now, both lawmakers insist they're innocen and say they'll fight the charges in a public trial. waters has already won her primary in california, and she doesn't face a serious t challee in the general election. and eerangel, he still needs to win tomorrow'srimary here in new york. don't bet against him. so here's the question.

should the ethics trials of representatives charlie rangne and maxi waters be postponed until after the november elections? of course they shouldn't, but they're going to be, it looks like. go to stcnn.com/caffertyfile an post a comment on my blog. >> if charlheie rangel wins the democratic nomination tomorrow, he's going to win in november, is that right? >> of course. yeah, absolutely. he's been elected in that district up there in harlem, i don't know, since they invented electricity, i think. he's 81 years old, something like that. >> he's been a very popular guy. >> if he wins the imary, he's a shoo-in. >> thanks very much. on the eve of a key primary in delaware, sarah palin is umpininto what is already a nasty republican fight for the senatenomination. she's helping the tea party movement, christine o'donnell, against the ni-term republican congressman mike cassel. listen to this. >> i can rate to the vicious personal attacksan on christine and tell you it's sad to see the

establishment's desperation in this. >> our national politiclial correspondent, jessica yellin is tracking ts race for us as well. she's in delaware. is this a huge help, sarah palin's help for christine o'donnell? is it a huge factor bas on what you can tell, jessica? >> reporter: well, o'donnell thinks it is, wolf. palin's robo call comes the same day that freedom works, the dick armey group that has been supporting many tea party candidates across the country says they're not going to support christine o'donnell, uggesting they think she's unelectable. and she has been the target of much criticism, not just from democrats but also from republicans, which is why she says sarah palin's endorsement is all the more invigorating and helpful to her mpaign. i interviewed her a short time ago. here's what she said. >> governor palin can relate to the politics of personal destruction and she survived them and they didn't get her down. i think that when people have seen that in the midst of this

mud slinging she had the courage to come out and say,ke hey, you know, keep it about the issues, it gave my supporters an extra boost of encouragement. >> reporter: and you too? >> and me too. you know, it can getu you down. >> reporter: wolf, many democrats and some republicans think that if christine o'donnell wins the primary tomorrow, then the democrats will win in the general election. even democrats are hoping she wins tomorrow, but o'donnell says it's not going to happen. she's confident she can win in the end. >> she does say she's also interested in some support from an expected source. what was that referring to? >> reporter: twice during our interview she brought up hillary clinton in context with sarah palin as a strong woman who inspires her. s i asked would you like secretary of state hillary clinton's endorsement, even though her policy positions are so different from yours? listen to what she said. >> you've brought her up twice now. would you like hillary clinton's endorsement? >> i admire hillary clinton. and, yes, i would love hillary clinton's endorsement.

you know, when i saw her presidential ads, i said, you go, girl. i'm not aob republican, i probay won't vote for her, but i do admire her. >> reporter: you go, girl. i doubt that endorsement will be iorthcoming, but she doehas say she has some former hillary clinton supporters who are now supporting her's campaign. so she's wooed some hillary democrats, i guess, over to her team she says. >> we'll see if there's an upset in delaware as there was in alaska, in utah, in kentucky and some of these other states where the teapay-backed republican candidathas surprised the so-called establishment candidate. all right, thanks very much, jessica will cover the story for us tomorrow. it's already a monster in the middle of the atlantic ocean with winds of 150, yes, 150 miles an hour. could hurricane igor grow even more powerful? ll it threaten the east coast of the united states? chad myers is tracking the storm for us. wow, this is a big one.

this is a real monster, but fortunately it's in the middle of the atlantic right now. >> yeah, it's not in the middle of nowhere, but you can see nowhere from there. the islands here and here's san juan, puerto rico, theu.o virgin islands so still way out in the atlantic, thousands of miles away from hitting anything. now, there still will be big waves along the eas t coast whether this dies out, turns right or whatever. that's not going to go away. those waves will still be out there. but the forecast again, wolf, just like the last storm is tok make that big m right-hand turn into the middle of the atlantic very close to bermuda this time, by the way, but that turn hasn't happened. does this sound like a broken record? absolutely. the same idea that we've been talking about the last time. oh, let's turn here, no, it's going to turn here, no, it's going to turn here. this one hasn't been doing this just yet but it's still not turning. we wait and wait and wait for the turns and sometimes we have to wait too long, like with earl. we'll see if this storm continues to move closer and closer. so far, 150, 140, 125 and still

very close to bermuda at 120 miles per hour. just because right now it's not forecast to make a run at the east coast of the u.s., you cannot let your guard down. sometimes these things refuse to turn. we'll be here all week. >> we're going to watch it together with you. it's a category 4 now, 150 miles an hour. how fastet does it need to get be a category 5? >> te156. n you tell the difference if i put yound 156 in a wind tunnel? no. same kind of da mage. >> all right. let's hope it stays offshore, please, please. we don't need it. thanks very much. he's accused of trying to ane bound for detroit. now a young nigerian man hasir decided to fire his legal team and replace it with a new defender, himself. and the filmmaker michael moore isn't one to hold his tongue wait until you hear what heonas to say about the controversial islamic center in new york city.

stay with us, you're in "the situation room."

kate baldwin is monitoring some of the other top stories ir sthe situation room" right now.

what's going on. >> at least 14 peoplere dyead but officials say there are survivors in this morning's plane crash in southeastern venezuela. the twin turbo prop plan crashed 12 minutes after takeoff from the airport into an industrial junkyard. officials say there were at least 47 pasngers and crew on board. they also say 33 people are undergoing treatment at area hospitals. the cause of the crash is still under investigation. >> the nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a plane last chrimas has told a federal judge in detroit he wants to represent himself. the judge at the pretrial aring for umar farouk advised him against it. he tried to set off a bomb in his underwear on a plane bound for detroit. newly published research suggests that a simple baseline blood test is all a man needs to determine his risk of prostate cancer and whether or not he might benefit from future scing and treatment.

the study which followed 85,00 men founden with low psa levels in the baseline test were less likely to get cancer than those whose psa levels were ligh. the findings are published in the journal ti"cancer." we have dramatic new video to show you of customers at a market i san bruno,ia californi. all scurrying for safety after a deadly g as explosion. the blast and suequent fire killed at least four people, demolished 37 homes. pacific gas & electric has established a $100 million fund to fund residents' living expenses and help rebuild parts of the community ruined by the disaster. the images are startling, wolf. they have got a long time before that community is going to be back. >> yeah, these people arer running for their lives, literally. they're scared. >> absolutely. >> thanks very much, kate. h we're going to hear from e filmmaker michael moore on the mosque controversy in new york city. he has his ownsu provocative

suggestion regarding th islamic community centerplanned for lower manhattan. on, nonear, but right on ground zero. we could've gone a more traditional route... ... but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. ♪

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[ rattling ] [ laughing ] [ announr ] close enough just isn't good enough. - if your car is in an accident, - [ laughing continues ] make sure it's repaired with the right replacement parts. take the scary out of life with travelers. call or click now for an agent or quote. michael moore is no stranger to controversy and he doesn't hold back how he feels about the proposed islamic cultural center near ground zero in new york city is no exception.

the filmmaker has taken an uncompromising position on how that project should be handled. joining us now from miami, the documentary filmmaker michael moore. ichael, thanks very much for coming in. >> thanks for having me, blitz, i appreciate ll it. i can call you blitz, right? >> you can call me olbtz, you can call me wolf, whatever, that's fine. >> all right. >> let's talk about this latest article or blog that you wrote, because it sort of jumped out at me. you said you don't want thela islamic cultural center to be built near ground zero, you want it to be built on ground zero. tell us why. >> well, i'm just so offended by the bullying that's been taking place, picking on people who make up a very small percentage of our pulation and treating them as if they're not americans. and they have every right to be in, near, around, at ground zero

ason anyone else. and i think -- i just got to thinking that the america that i believe in is an america that is generous of spirit and not one that wants to attack people because of their religious faith. and i personally feel very bad that these 19rd murderers of 9/ who killed 3,000 people were able to hijack a religion, did something what they said was in the name of islam, and have made life very difficult for everybody else who is a member of this faith. and i thought what better way of u i who are not of the islamic faith, do to show our fellow muslim americans that we so understand that these murderers hijacked their religion from them than to help restore the good namehe of thei

faith right there, right there at ground zero. i mean frankly -- >> let me just. >> i believe that there -- yeah. >> let me interrupt for a moment because as you know a lot of americans think that they have every right to build the cultural center d mosque near ground zer buto, they don't hink it's necessarily appropriate. a brand new quinnipiac poll asked is it appropriate to build a meosqu and islamic center near ground zero. 28% said yes, 63% said no. why do americans, why are they so opposed to this idea of building this mosque and cultural center near, not on ground zero, but even near ground zero? >> yeah, even near it. yeah, i think it's because we're a little slow on the uptake sometimes. those are pretty much the exact numbers of the people at the begiranning of the iraq war of 28%, 30% opposed it and about 70% were in favor of it. we always seem to get it wrong

at first. whether that was with slavery, killing indians, women not voting. we're not very good at the beginning of t hese things. we're really great, though, as we move alon we live in a nation where sadly people listen to things, they get afraid very easily. we have 40 million adult americans who are functional illiterates, which means they can't read and write above the urth grade level. so l that's the america we live in. sometimes we have to put up with that. but everybody, regardless of their level of ignorance, i believe at their core is good and has a good heart and if presented with the truth, and the trutis, is that muslim americans are americans t same as every other american. >> and what do you say, michael, to a family member of someone who was killed at ground zero who says, you know, i don't really think this is appropriate. look in the camera and tell us what you would say to that family member.

>> i would say that i complete the l-- completely understand hw you feel. if a member of my family was murdered, i live in a nation where they would not allow me to sit on the jury. yet common sense says to me but who better to judge those who took my family member's life than the family itself to get retribution. but we don't have a system like that, do we. the reason weisca don't is beca we have to separate the emotion from it because sometimes if we just let emotion take over and run things,the wrong decisions get made. i went to mass yesterday, wolf. do you think i'm a pedophile sympathizer? should i be judged because some priests committed a crime against children? do you think less of me because of that or because timothy mcveigh was a catholic and blew up the oklahoma city building? should a catholic church not be

allowed anywhere near the oklahoma city building because he was catholic? i've got to tell you, the very first presidential election i olreer, i was 6 years old, john kennedy versus richard nixon. and i member, 6 years old, hearing all this stuff about if kennedy was elected, the pope was going to run the country. and i remember feeling like there was something wrong, there was something bad about why was i bad because i was catholic. this is our history and we have stop this. and those of us whare part of the majority have to always stand up f minority when they're being bullied by people who are using this issue for their own political gain. >> what did you think of the way the president, the commanding general i afghanistan, general petraeus, the news media for that matter, handled the whole issue of that pastor in florida who said he was going to burn a couple hundred copies of the koran? >> well, it's never good to have

our general saying that we're afraid of anything. i mean i just -- i got a whole otr thing about that, we could take another show on that. i just think when you're talking about burning the koran, let me just point out again to my fellow americans, 80% of whom don't have a passport and never leave the country, never see the rest of th world, don't know anything about what's going on, you know, i've had had the good fortune to be able to get out of here and see a bit of this planet we live on. the koran has 25 different mentions of jolesus in that hol book, 25. they consider jesus a messenger of god. why would you burn a book that beautifully mentions jesus at least two dozen times? i mean how many americans even know that? it really is just -- i just -- it just seems so crazy to me and i'm just fed up with it. i just felt like i had to take a

stand and say something about this. you know, arabs and muslims, you know, they're 0.6% of our population. whenev the angry mob turns on a small group,t's best to know that whethey're done with that group, they're off to the next small group. so everybody should think about that, because we all belong to our own ethnic groups that either came to this country by choice or whose ancestors were brought here by force as slaves or who we herre originally as henative americans. that's the melting pot of who we are. we should always stand up against the angry mob when they're trying to take away a basic inherent right of anybody in this country. >> michael moore, there's so many other issues i want to get into but that will have to wait for another day. thanks as usual for coming in, really appreciate it. >> thanks for having me on. i appreciate it here. appreciate it. a wrestling match over taxes. is the house republican leader about to cry "uncle"? and barbara starr took yo on

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the democratic candidate for governor of california is now formally publicly apologizing to former president bill clinton for gog after him as a result of an ad that meg whitman, e republican candidate putting out, citing 1992 debate between jerry brown and bill clinton. they were both running for the democratic presidential nomination. now jerry brown is saying bill clinton was an excellent president, it was wrong for me to joke about an incidentro m many years ago and i'm sorry. john talk about it with king. he's the host of "john king usa" that comes up at the top of the hour. you and i remember that '92 campaign. it was pretty bitter between jerry brown and bill clinton, but now meg whitman took advantage of that and is running a power l ad. >> she did in part because bill clinton is still very, very popular in the state of california. do you remember how many times during the clinton presidency he went out to catch. he spent time vacationing,he spent timeta keeping his standi up and doing politics and

political business. meg whitman was smartly trying to take advantage. jerry brown was the last democrat standing against bill clinton and he stayed in much longer, governor clinton used to complain to his aides, he knows i'm going to win, he's hurting the democratic party, why is he doing this. at one of the debates it got really nasty when governor brown said gernor clinton was routing state business to hillary clinton's law firm and the two of them turnedr to each other visibly angry and governor clokinton said, look, say anythg you want about me, do not bring my wife into this campaign. a lot of bad blood. they are still not friends. but attorney general brown now running realizes te last thing he needs is not on to be fighting meg whitman but t be fighting bill clinton as well. >> he could use bill clinton's help if he wants to becahe nt governor of california. let's talk about john boehner right now. he said he doesn't want a tax increase on anyone, but in order to t save the tax cuts for the middle class, he may have to hold his nose and vote for that without allowing the tax cuts for the rich. those making more than $250,000

a year, to go forward as well. who bnked in this battle? >> i don't know if anybody blinked. what john boehner did is he stated as the founders would say if we hold these truths to be self-evident. if they have the votes and it is only tax cuts for the middle class, almost all, if not all of the republicans are going to vote for tax cuts for the middle class and give a speech saying they wish they could vote to exte all of the bush tax cuts. but what has a lot of his fellow republicans angry is that you shouldn't negotiate in advance. yohu snouldn't put your positio in public. it's like saying i love that tie, can i b it for $25 and you say no, i'll give you 50. i'm notoing to have much leverage in that negotiation. so that's what republicans are otd about. no republican is going to vote against the democratic plan if that's all it is, tax cuts for the middle class. had the republicans democrats on the defensive. >> so how is this going to play out? >> there's the house and the senate. on the house side he was

acknowledging reality. if the democrats keep most of the democrats together, the final package that com to the house floor is likely to be only those middle class tax cuts or $250,000 and below. that's still likely to be what happens in the house. but the senate is back today. mitch mcconnell, made crtal clear he's not having that vote. there are enough centrists that agree with mitch mccalm onnellc. it probably won't be settled until a post-election lame duck session of congress. >> i know you'll have a lot more coming up at the top of the hour. thanks very much, john. they fought together, were wounded togeer and journeyed home together. we'll show you how these soldiers are now recovering together. stay with us, you're in "the situation room." to give back to society... felicia jackson promised her late sister that she would take care of her children. but she needed help. used my american express open card toet half a million points to buy building materials to help build the jackson family a new home.

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just weeks after 9/11, the u. launched theasion of afghanistan. nine years later, the casualty toll is rising. our pentagoncorrespondent, barbara starr, has been following a group of american soldiers who fought together, were wounde together an traveled home together. now this band of brothers is recovering together. barba takes us behind the scenes to see how they're doing. >> reporter: i don't know if you remember meeting me. >> i do, mahi'am. >> reporter: can i say hi? i don't want to hug tootight. hhow are you? >> we're fine. i'm oo>>g rep ma'am. >> reporter: i first met private first class miguel garcia, specialist aaron knuckles and staff sergeant benjamin mcguire on stretchers, wounded in a massive ied blast in afghanistan. they were making the. journey home. now up and around back at ft

campbell, kentucky, home of the airborne division. we checked in to see how their recovery was going. mcguire was the most seriously hurt, a shattered jaw. >> i was completely unconscious, ma'am. the first memory i have of that whole event was i came -- started to come around as they were pulling me out of the truck the rest of the way. >> i saw him. they pulled him out of the truck and it looked like someone had just slit his throat because he was -- from that cut underneath his jaw, he was just -- it was a nightmare. >> reporter: the men initially thought they had been separated by the blst. >>ib it was horrible. i didn't know where garcia as. the worstit thing about it was one would tell me what s goingho on. i was like how's mcguire, how's mcguire, that's all i was yelling. nol one would actually tell me e was okay. >> reporter: but still a bit of humor when they look at their trip home when they were all still on heavy doses of pain

medication. >> morphine talking right there. >> reporter: now we learn more about what the men had been through. garcia was the gunner, knuckles then joined the team. >> the very first time he was with us on patrol, when he joined our crew on our truck, we actually got ambushed that day on a route heading north in our sector. our truck was hit byrpg on that day. so i joked with him and said you're not allowed to be my driver anymore. >> reporter: knuckles was driving on july 12th when they were hit by the ied that made them brothers in arms forever. >> all i was worried about was rolling off the cliff we were on. where we were at was not a good spot to get hit. i think what they really planned to do was blow us off the side the mountain. if they could have rolled us over, like two feet further, we would have rolled down about 2,000 or 3,000 foot dropoff. >> reporter: on that mountain, no washington policy or

politics, a friendship under fire that these men say will last forever. day-to-day is really not about what washington says. 's abo your buddies. >> i don't care about the politics, ma'am. they tell me where to go and i just try to take care of them as much as i can. that's w i do. reporter: do you feel the same way? >> ayeah. i know without a doubt these guys would die for me just like i'd die for them. >> reporter: all three soldiers will tell you they are doing well but they will tell you, yes, they are still having nightmares about the attack. still, they all hope to return to afghanistan. barbara starr, cnn, ft. campbell, kentucky. >> this footnote, just think of pfc miguel garcia who you saw in the piece. 's 21 years old. on the morning of 9/11, he was a 12-year-old boy. a new generation of troop now fighting this war. thanks to barbara for that

report. shld the ethics trials of congressmen charlie rangel and congresswoman maxine wats beer put off until after the november elections? ck cafferty with your e-mail. that's coming up. and latgaga made more than a fashion statement with her latest ensemble. so what is that most unusual fabric? >> reporter: so you're pretty sure that hat is flank t.steak? >> it looks like it. >> reporter: uh-huh. ? tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no more $2, $3 fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no more paying to access your own money. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it'd be like every atm in the world was your atm. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the schwab bank high yield investor ccking(tm) account. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 zero atm fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 a great interest rate. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no minimums. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the biggest thing in checking since checks. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 open an account at 1-800-4schwab or schwab.com.

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time now to check back with jack for the kafrty file.? jack? >> "shoul the ethic trials of representatives charlie rangel and maxine waters be postponed until after the november elections?" it looks like now that's what's going to hap st.pe ra,ndy in st. louis writes, "an why would we do this, delay the proceedings? sose the two can win

re-elections? so they can hope not that many people read the news". "you'd thinkf they were innocent, they'd be calling for an immediate trial to clear their names, wouldn't you?" sherry says, "these ethics trials are used for harassment by oth parties, but mos republicans. it doesn't matter when they're held? greg says, "justice delayed is justice denied. if they're guilty, let them hang. but if they're acquitted let's get on with with the real issues facing the country." bill writes, "absolutely not they must be held before the elections so voters have as much as information as possible when they goat into the voting booth." kevin in atlanta says, "ethics trials are just a show, to reassure us that congress is capable of policing itself. they mean nothing." and jafsy says, "what scares me

more than more of the same is the backcos who are running to take back the government. many have no experience, no brains. you think government's garbage now? wait until you see what we get up the government fills with a bunch of moderons." and paul says, "i love you, man, but, sorry, i like congressman rangel too." if you want yo read more on this, you can find it on my blog, cnn.com/caffertyfile. >> a lot of people love you, jack. >> well, thank you. >> thank you. see you tomorrow. thank you. lady gaga says, i am not a piece of meat. why, then, is she wearing this most unusual gow stay with us. you're in "the situation room."

some of you watching last night's video music awards might have found lady gaga's gown, all we say, mouth watering. cnn's jeanne moos went looking for the singer's most unusual message behind the meat. >> reporter: who on earth would shop for a dress in a butcher shop? >> lady gaga! >> reporter: there she was, head to toe in not-so-prime cuts. >> doesn't look like the highest quality meat, so i don't know -- i don't see a lot of marbling. >> reporter: but you've got to give lady gaga credit for mounting the stairs, weang raw steak wedges. >> oh, my god. >> i don't like the shoes, actually. >> reporter: lady gaga left cher holding the bag -- her bag made of meat. >> i never thought i'd be asking

cher to hold my meat purse. >> reporter: at new york's fashion week -- >> raw meat! oh, my gosh, it's amazing! >> reporter: 'sd ga's meat outf met with raised eyebrows. >> wow. that's ptty rare. >> reporter: but even some of the rare birds at fashion week didn't find lady gaga's look well done. >> it was revolting. >> reporter: revolting? >> i find it i disturbing. >> did it smell, is what i want to know. eporter: sure didn't seem to hurt his appetite, though. the animal rights folks at peta gagged on gaga's latest stunt, calling meat "the decomposing flesh of an abused animal." mtv's style first reporter that designer frank fernandez created the outfit and posted photos of it on his blog, saying the meat came from his family butcher. unlike cher's full-on body hug, ellen degeneres kept her distance. ellen's a vegan. and presented gaga with a veggbe bikini and skirt.

how's that? in the past, the bacon bra has had a moment of fame on flickr. >> looks like we lost a little bit of jeanne's report there. apologize for that. we'll try to fix it. ifou want to see the rest, i'm sure we'll have a chance maybe tomorrow. thanks very much. remember, you can always follow at's going ohere in "the situation room." i'm on twitter, you can get my tweets at twitter.com/wolfblitzercnn. you can also follow "the situation room" on facebook. go to facebook.com/cnnsituationroom to become a fan. two important guests tomorrow here in "the situation room." the former british prime minister, tony blair will be among my guests tomorrow. he has a brand-new book, as you know, and ayad allawi. he won the most votes in the s most recent iraqi election, some six months ago. still no new government. we'll speak with ayad allawi about what's going on in iraq right now. until then, thanks very much fog

watching. i'm wolf blitzer